Tendulkar to get Bharat Ratna

Sachin Tendulkar will be conferred with India's highest civilian order, Bharat Ratna, the government confirmed hours after the batsman played his last Test match.

Tendulkar will be the first sportsperson ever to be bestowed this honour and the first to be awarded with the Bharat Ratna since 2008. There was a debate on whether a sportsperson should be given the award and that is also the reason why hockey great Dhyan Chand has not received it.

However, Tendulkar's frenzied farewell series once again highlighted just how enigmatic and influential he has been in the course of his 24-year-old cricketing journey. Tendulkar called time on a glittering career after playing his 200th Test against the West Indies in Mumbai.

Tendulkar finished with the most runs in Test cricket (15921) and ODIs (18426) besides a string of other records. His farewell Test at the Wankhede Stadium was attended by leading politicians, industrialists and movie stars besides former cricketers.